“I have learned that. Several times,” I said with a hollow smile, hoping that it passed for guilt.
“With recent news, I doubt anyone is watching right now,” she said carefully. “It is even likely that they are following other leads that someone may have let slip. But better safe than sorry. Names are not dangerous in and of themselves, but when used in certain contexts, they can be…revealing. Even faint echoes of names can be dangerous.”
I nodded, feeling my pulse increase. “Yet some harbor less fear than others and choose to directly involve themselves,” I said, gently resting my fingertips on her knees in a reassuring and appreciative gesture.
She nodded. “Perhaps they just harbor less common sense, or no longer care more about their own selfish needs over those of another.”
I nodded, waiting for more.
“I am the goddess of sex. I do not like stories without a climax. Fuck and let fuck, as I’ve often said,” she murmured, the sudden shift in topic leaving me reeling. I stared at her, not sure I understood her meaning. “I thought you deserved that much, at least,” she said, glancing over her shoulder at the door to the bathroom.
My eyes widened and I blinked. “You stopped time so that I could…” I trailed off, not believing I had heard her properly.
She rolled her eyes, amused. “You can say it, Sorin. Fuck, fuck, fuck. It’s what you mean by the word that really matters, not the actual word used. Please tell me you aren’t that much of a prude. You gave me a demonstration, in case you have forgotten.”
I blushed, shaking my head. “I know how to say the word, Aphrodite. I haven’t decided on which word to use, or even what I want the chosen word to mean. We haven’t crossed that bridge yet.”
She nodded, grinning mischievously. “Exactly my point. I froze time so that you could fuck your devils, as I hear you call them. Love that, by the way,” she added with a conspiratorial wink. “So they could fuck you. So they could fuck each other. Whatever fuckery you were racing down here to do before the Sisters of Mercy showed up outside.” She grinned as I shifted uncomfortably. “It’s what a good sister does—helps her brother chase some ass and grasp his dreams by the ponytails.”
I blinked at her, deciding that philosophy and morals was not a topic I currently wanted to get into with Aphrodite, let alone grasping my dreams. She was my…sister—which still sounded bizarre to say, even though I had tested the word out a few times. “Why would you go out of your way to do that for me? What if I wasn’t who you thought? Or what if our interests didn’t align? Don’t take this personally, but I have a hard time accepting that you did this out of the goodness of your own heart. What is in it for you?”
She frowned sadly, her bubble of joy slowly deflating at my lack of enthusiasm. “To be entirely honest?” I nodded. She stared at me unblinking, and I watched as light tears began to well up in her eyes, even though her face didn’t change in the slightest. “What’s in it for me is probably an early grave,” she whispered.
I stiffened. “What?”
She waved a hand, wiping at her eyes with the sleeves of her robe. “I’ll get to that in a moment. Otherwise you won’t listen to the rest of what I have to say.”
I frowned. “Okay.”
“As much as it pains me to admit, freezing time wasn’t entirely my idea—even though it should have been, what with me being the goddess of sex. But I was…distracted. It took a rational mind to help me see clearly. It took a heart to open my eyes.”
I was surprised to see her open up so completely after her outlandish flirting from earlier. Like I was catching a rare glimpse at the woman beneath the lingerie…which was really a horrible simile, the more I thought about it.
“Upon hearing the recent news about you—that I might have a brother untainted by the scheming of Mount Olympus—I sought out some friends of mine. I only have a few. I soon learned about what was done to you in Delphi so long ago. What was taken from you. That you chose a life of half-love, even though it cost you your soul and two other curses,” she said, her voice growing alarmingly angry. “I am the goddess of love and sex, and my own brother was denied the full experience of his heart’s desire. Not permitted to even touch his lover. Not permitted to behold the radiant glow of the sun’s golden light kissing her flesh.” She looked up at me, her eyes red-rimmed. “Is it true that you wrote forty-four love poems to her? Using the blood of swans as ink since it was the only thing available to you? The only way you could communicate with her?” she whispered, her voice breaking.
I nodded, surprised that she knew such a specific detail as what type of creature I’d been told to hunt. I cleared my throat at my own swell of grief at the unbidden memory. When trying to steal Artemis’ bow in exchange for Hades’ assistance, I had indeed used the blood of swans to leave love notes for Selene to find every morning since I was unable to visit her in person—not after the sun burned my skin, thanks to Apollo’s jealousy. “Yes.”
Aphrodite’s fists clenched, causing her knuckles to crack like gunshots. “Forced to live on blood as a reward for your steadfast devotion in the simple act of pursuing love at any cost. Then to be deceived at the very end, promised a hollow reward if you were willing to kill this woman to prove your love.” Tears fell down her cheeks and her shoulders shook. “To learn that two of my siblings had tormented my little brother’s very heart and soul almost destroyed me. I wanted to meet such a man,” she said, smiling sadly at me. “For that was a man I could proudly call brother.”
I lowered my eyes sadly, vividly recalling the events that had birthed the world’s first vampire. “Selene was worth it.”
She shuddered as if my words tore at her soul. “Upon hearing your story, one of my fellow Olympians felt that you deserved some extra time to enjoy some of those stolen joys. Although not the original aim of your heart, my friend sensed that your heart had somehow opened up again to two others.” Her eyes drifted towards the door to the bathroom with a crooked smile. “I wish I could take credit for the idea, but I can’t. And I didn’t want you thinking I was trying to do so.”
I stared at her, my fingers tingling. She really had frozen time so that I could climb into bed with Natalie and Victoria. That…was unbelievably considerate. Not just on a physical level, but that she had done it to right a wrong inflicted upon me by our siblings, Apollo and Artemis. It wasn’t about the sex; it was about the gift of a peaceful moment of reprieve.
And, if I was reading between the lines correctly, it had been Selene’s idea. My wife.
Selene was the fellow Olympian whom Aphrodite was referring to; she had convinced the goddess of sex to grant me the time to enjoy a safe moment of pleasure with Natalie and Victoria. Was that out of guilt for what she had done to Natalie, or was it as genuine as Aphrodite was making it sound?
I stared at Aphrodite, realizing that she was watching me attentively.
“It has nothing to do with any recent injuries your devils may have suffered. Those were necessary for reasons you will soon learn, Sorin,” she said reassuringly. Her comment fully confirmed my suspicion about Selene. Then she glanced up at the ceiling. “Sex happens most often at night, so I have close ties to the moon. Next time you’re fucking under the moonlight, maybe glance up at the moon and howl. I think it would make her smile.”
I blinked, entirely sure that such an act would be beyond cruel and not remotely humorous. “Okay,” I lied.
“My gift wouldn’t be as strong without the power of night. Just like you, brother.”
I suddenly realized why she was being so vague. There were various gods and Titans related to the night. She was obscuring the truth as best she could. But I knew she was talking about Selene. And she obviously didn’t want Nosh knowing about her aid. But why be so obscure? She had said that context mattered, but we were talking about Artemis and Apollo without any concern. I remembered when Selene had recently frozen time to pay me a visit with her glass chains made by…
“Hephaestus,” I gasped. “The
glass chains. Your husband made them!”
“My husband makes many things without my knowledge,” she murmured carefully, “and his creations most often cause him more pain than they are worth.”
“Zeus forced you to marry Hephaestus. Why would you help Zeus’ son?”
She nodded. “He did. But we have all done things we regret, and I have a soft spot for the ugly brute, Hephaestus. It took me a few centuries to find that spot. Or for him to find that spot, technically speaking,” she chuckled darkly.
I rolled my eyes. “Less innuendo and more explanation.”
“Hephaestus and I have an understanding. You’re my brother, and I hate those fucking twins more than almost anyone—except Hera, of course. I hated them long before I heard your story, Sorin. But now?” she asked coldly. “I would open the pits of Tartarus and toss them within, whistling as I worked. Your arrival into the family is like a perfect storm. A storm of retribution. A cleansing purge.”
I stared at her, wondering again why she had used their names without concern but hadn’t used Selene’s name. “You do realize that you just gave me reason to suspect your integrity, right? That you have ulterior motives beyond offering me an evening of pleasure.”
She nodded unashamedly. “You had those suspicions the moment you saw me. Which is why I spoke of other things first. Maybe I was hoping to appeal to your emotions in order to manipulate you. But maybe I was speaking the truth. I no longer care which way you take it.”
I frowned at her sudden defeated demeanor. “Why do you no longer care?”
“Those chains you mentioned…the twins punished Hephaestus for making them. They thought he made them faulty on purpose—in order to secretly help you. They…severed his thumbs for it.”
I gasped, staring at her in horror as I felt bile rise up into the back of my throat.
9
She used the sleeve of her robe to wipe at her nose. “I hate them, Sorin. More than I’ve ever wanted to have sex with anyone. I never truly realized how closely hate and love are intertwined. So, believe me or don’t, brother. I am at your mercy. Kill me, imprison me, or believe me. I’d rather die by your hand than let the twins or anyone else in our family do it, for I will surely perish for what I plan to do to them. They know that now. I will be their next target.”
“Why?” I rasped, gripping her chin. I now had a pretty good idea why she was mentioning some names over others—she was only mentioning names of the Olympians who were openly standing against me. She didn’t want to paint a target on any potential allies. “Hephaestus was not at fault for the chains. I swear it.”
She nodded. “I know that. So did they,” she said woodenly. “They cut off his thumbs anyway. Simply because they could.”
“The twins,” I growled, gritting my teeth. “Apollo and Artemis. Out of all the Olympians, why are they so obsessed with my downfall?”
She shrugged helplessly. “Hera must be helping them, although I’ve found no proof. She’s the biggest bitch on Mount Olympus, and she hates Zeus’ illegitimate children with a passion,” she said, pointing a finger at her chest and then mine. She didn’t seem to notice that her robe had fallen open, giving me a show. Then again, with her, clothing likely felt chafing and unnatural. “The same one who will hunt you down soon, brother. She won’t give you a moment’s respite, even if you wanted to live the rest of your life in a cave and never see another human ever again. Your very existence is a slap in her face—direct proof of our father’s most recent infidelity. And with a mortal woman, no less. In her eyes, the only way to reclaim her honor is to utterly destroy you. Your only chance to stand against your fucked-up family is to get your soul back from the Underworld. You must take it from Hades.”
I stared at her, shaking my head. “If I currently don’t have the strength to stand against Hera, how the hell do you expect me to take down Zeus’ brother, Hades?” I growled in frustration.
“Perhaps you could steal it,” she suggested, not sounding too confident. She noticed my frank look and wilted. “I don’t know what to tell you, but it is not a choice any longer.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning.
“Who do you think Dracula is trying to summon inside your castle? Dracula knows Hades has your soul, right? I can almost guarantee that Hera knows because Artemis and Apollo would have told her after your little stint at the Statue of Liberty. Luckily, everyone is too busy picking sides to come at you all at once. And they are too busy maneuvering for their own safety to openly pick a side. You have drawn a line in the sand between two of Olympus’s most powerful gods, and everyone is terrified about which side to choose. Welcome to the family, brother. We all hate each other while pretending to love each other unconditionally. We put the fun in dysfunctional.”
I ran a hand through my hair, clenching my teeth as I considered and discarded half-a-dozen plans before mentally stepping back to let my thoughts work in the background. “How has no one known about me all this time? I haven’t exactly hidden my existence. I always assumed my curses were common knowledge. How did no one know who I really was?”
Aphrodite grunted. “Luck. Sheer fucking luck. The curses helped because it trapped your soul in the Underworld—where no other major Olympians reside. Everyone who might have known kept their lips shut or doubted the truth after Apollo and Artemis so deftly hoodwinked you. No one saw you as a threat after that—a powerful human, sure. Then you died and Dracula rose to power. No one even remembered your name, so they dismissed the whispered rumor that you might be Zeus’ illegitimate son.”
I grimaced. “Then I came back. And then I picked a fight in the middle of the sky with Zeus.”
She nodded. “Brilliant execution, but a terrible plan, brother.”
“I didn’t know,” I argued angrily. “How the fuck was I supposed to know something like that? Especially after believing that I’d been cursed by Apollo and Artemis.”
“Which was probably the point.”
I sighed, thinking furiously. “So, Dracula is trying to get his hands on my soul to use as a bargaining chip—which is pretty much his only chance at survival.” Aphrodite nodded. “Where does Hades stand on the issue? Couldn’t he just crush my soul right now and be done with it?”
She shrugged. “No one knows the mind of Hades. He resents us for banishing him to the Underworld. He’s an asshole, but maybe he’s a different kind of asshole. I wouldn’t bank on him being an ally, though. He took your soul in the first place, after all. I bet he’s loving the sudden attention—how his family suddenly remembers how special he is. Until they get what they want, anyway.”
I nodded pensively. “Break into the Underworld,” I muttered under my breath. “I don’t have time to travel to Greece to revisit that cursed cave where I first met Hades. And if I don’t hand Dracula over to the Sisters of Mercy, they are going to cause all sorts of problems, spreading my resources thin.”
She shot me a frightened look at the mention of handing Dracula over. “I can promise you one thing, Sorin. If Dracula leaves that castle—for any reason—every Olympian on Mount Olympus will come after him. It’s simple self-preservation. If they get Dracula, they get priceless answers about your true past. They will have leverage with both Zeus and Hera. Dracula is a shield to keep them out of the war—or to get your soul all to themselves.”
I grimaced, deciding not to mention that Nero also knew my past. Luckily, Lucian was already dead—which was a chilling thought to have. It hurt my heart to admit it in such a cold manner, but it was the truth. It meant that he was safe from Olympian politics. But now Nero needed protection. If anyone found out what he knew…he would be just as valuable as Dracula. And if anyone spoke to Dracula, I could guarantee he would tell them about Nero as well. I had to keep both of them safe. From everyone.
Which meant I now had multiple reasons to refuse the Sisters of Mercy.
Which would introduce a whole new layer of drama.
And I had to do all of this before Dracu
la succeeded in summoning Hades to my very castle to help break him out.
“What are the twins doing right now?” I asked. “What are any of the Olympians doing? Any piece of information might help. If I can turn them on each other, I can cause a distraction that it might buy me enough time to get my soul back without them ever knowing it.”
Aphrodite considered my question. “The twins are doing something nefarious, but I have no idea what. It is likely guaranteed to cause you or anyone associated with you immense suffering. When it comes to the other relatives, I have no idea. I’ve been busy taking care of my husband following the twins’ cruelty. I haven’t even seen Ares in a while, and we usually Netfuck at least once a month.”
I arched an eyebrow, wondering if she understood how inappropriate it was to talk about another man immediately after talking about her doting husband. “Netfuck?” I asked.
She waved a hand. “Our take on Netflix and chill. But Ares and I don’t even pretend to watch Netflix. Or chill. We just screw each other senseless to release some aggression whenever Hephaestus is busy tinkering in his shop and ignoring me.” I watched a tear fall from her cheeks. “Which will no longer be a concern. He can’t tinker without thumbs.”
“Oh,” I said as if her answer made perfect sense. I’d have to find out what Netflix was to get the reference. She obviously saw nothing wrong with her open relationship. I wasn’t sure if she was crying about Hephaestus missing thumbs or the fact that she no longer had an excuse to have sex with Ares, the god of war. I didn’t see how either answer could help me anyway.
“I used to spend time with Hecate, but she’s been quiet for a long time. We usually go our own ways for long stretches since the world doesn’t really need our constant attention. Hardly anyone worships us anymore.”
I nodded, having a dozen questions on that topic—what did gods do when they were forgotten? I had assumed they died or withered away, but apparently not. “Hecate…” I murmured, scratching at my head. Her name was familiar, but I couldn’t place why.
Devil’s Blood: Shade of Devil Book 3 Page 6
